is the flag carrier airline of Australia and its largest airline by fleet size, international flights and international destinations.[4] It is the third oldest in the world, after KLM and Avianca[5] having been founded in November 1920; it began international passenger flights in May 1935. The Qantas name comes from "QANTAS", an acronym for its original name, "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services", and it is nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo".
The airline is based in the Sydney suburb of Mascot with its main hub at Sydney Airport. Qantas has a 65% share of the Australian domestic market and carries 18.7% of all passengers travelling in and out of Australia.[6][7] Its subsidiaries QantasLink and Jetconnect provide services within Australia and to New Zealand respectively, flying under the Qantas brand. Qantas also owns the low-cost airline Jetstar, which operates both domestic and international services, and holds stakes in a number of its sister airlines.